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Senior Malmö policeman charged over racist e-mails

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5 July 2005

14:48 CEST+02:00

Malmö police commander, Bengt Lindström, has been charged with inciting racial hatred in e-mails he sent to two local politicians. Ilmer Reepalu, a city commissioner, and Ewa Bengtsson, head of healthcare, received the e-mails in April and reported Lindström to the prosecutor's office.

In the formal charges, senior prosecutor, Sven-Erik Alhem, quoted extracts from the e-mails.

Lindström wrote the following to Bengtsson:

"You and Ilmar Reepalu treat old Swedes who have worked hard building up the fatherland like parasites and would rather give my taxes to criminals called Mohammed from Rosengård."

To Reepalu, he wrote:

"Withdraw your massive subsidies to all the bloody niggers in Rosengård and let Swedes who have sweated their whole lives building Sweden have their share of our prosperity. Jesus Christ, how I hate you and your damned socialist party."

Lindström has admitted sending the e-mails from his home computer, but he claims he only sent them to Reepalu and Bengtsson personally and that it was never his intention to make them public.

Alhem rejects that particular argument on the basis that all correspondence, including e-mails, received by local government is considered to be public property. All letters and other documents sent are officially registered and available to the general public and media.

Police chiefs in Skåne want Lindström to be dismissed, but that question lies with the national disciplinary body. They are awaiting the outcome of legal proceedings before deciding on their own action.

According to his lawyer, Per-Håkan Skoog, Lindström has been deeply affected by the reaction to his e-mails.

"He regrets his choice of words and is extremely sorry for what's happened," said Skoog.

The e-mails were sent during a huge local political storm over the treatment of an elderly man who refused to return to his home after a hospital stay. Reepalu's home was defaced with swastikas and was shot at.

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